The biggest gainer has been IPCL. Its share price has almost trebled since October 2001. The Government plans to sell a 26 per cent stake in the company.

The Reliance Group, Nirma and oil PSUs like Indian Oil and ONGC are among its prospective buyers and experts feel the bid may be as high as Rs 150 per share. Hence the spurt in the IPCL share price.

Other disinvestment candidates, including BPCL, HPCL, Bharat Electronics, Container Corporation and Shipping Corporation have also registered phenomenal gains. But disinvestment is not the only trigger.

Stocks like BHEL have also shown an impressive rise. This is because at its October price level of Rs 129.80, the BHEL scrip was quite undervalued and, therefore, attracted a lot of interest from mutual funds and financial institutions. Besides, the PSU has recently bagged some lucrative orders for power projects in India and abroad.

Another booster for oil PSUs was the dismantling of the administered price mechanism of petroleum products from April 1. This will help PSUs like ONGC improve their profitability by passing on the global price fluctuations to consumers.

Not all PSU stocks are on the roll. MTNL rose 10 per cent from Rs 129.60 in October to Rs 143 now. The opening up of basic services to the private sector has broken MTNL's monopoly, taking the sheen out of the stock.

That's the flipside of reforms, but still a small price to pay for larger benefits to flow in.

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